Smitten Kitchen recently posted a recipe for strawberry milk (barely adapted, as she says, from Gabrielle Hamilton’s Prune), and of course, it got the wheels turning. Aside from being a throwback to childhood—it is Thursday, after all—it got us thinking about colorful, flavored drinks for a self-serve bar, of sorts. With the approach of the 4th of July holiday weekend, we thought it might be fun and kid-friendly to make red, white, and blue versions of the milk to accompany the festivities. Adorable, right? We thought so. This has the added bonus of being a fantastic way to use up berries that have gone soft and are past the eating stage. Given that there is a strawberry allergy in the mix here, raspberries were substituted, but feel free to use the strawberries if that’s not an issue for you and your family.
The recipe for each flavor is pretty straightforward. For the red and blueberry milks, you’ll macerate the berries with sugar and blend them down once they’ve surrendered most of their juice. Once they’re thoroughly blended, strain out the skins and seeds and add the resulting syrup to the milk and buttermilk mixture.
Don’t be put off by the addition of the buttermilk, by the way. It adds a luxurious texture and just a hint of tang to the finished drink that balances out the sweetness of the fruit syrup. That balance is more evident in the berry versions, but the vanilla milk is so lush and creamy, the hint of sourness is a wonderful addition and actually made it our favorite among the three. The kids will probably go straight for the other two more colorful versions, but that just means more of the good stuff for you.
The process for the vanilla version is slightly different, as you’ll need to split and scrape the vanilla beans, then steep them in the milk and sugar to extract the flavor from the pods. That mixture then gets strained and added to the buttermilk. Our recipe differs from the others in that we strain out all of the solids for a thick, smooth drink.
Both the Prune and Smitten Kitchen versions left in some, if not all of the macerated fruit. While it added flavor and texture, we figured it would be more kid-friendly without all of that “stuff” floating in it. The strained version resembles a drinkable yogurt, also described as the texture of a melted milkshake. Since yogurt has somewhat healthier, breakfast-y connotations, we’re gonna stick with that.
The up side is that you know exactly what is going into each of these milks, so there’s no need to worry about all of those additives you find in the store-bought versions. It leaves you feeling a little less guilty about consuming glass after glass at breakfast in the name of “taste testing.” *cough*Kyle. This recipe is very easily scalable, so you can make a double or triple batch depending on the size of the crowd you’ll be entertaining. It’s also another make-ahead, which works out even better because the flavors will develop a little more as the milk sits in the fridge overnight.
If there won’t be any little ones around, you can always upgrade to more grown-up versions by adding your favorite liqueur to the flavored milks: A little banana liqueur in the raspberry, some elderflower liqueur in the blueberry, and a shot of Kahlua, Frangelico, Bailey’s or really anything in the vanilla. Once you discover how easy these flavored milks are to make, you’ll want to have them on hand all the time. We hope everyone enjoys them and has a safe, happy, and delicious holiday weekend. Cheers!
Inspired by Prune via Smitten Kitchen.
- Raspberry Milk:
- 12 ounce raspberries
- ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 cups whole milk
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- Blueberry Milk:
- 1 pint blueberries (from a 10 ounce container)
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup buttermilk
- Vanilla Bean Milk:
- 1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ½ cup buttermilk
- For the Raspberry Milk:
- Mix raspberries and sugar in the bottom of a bowl and let them macerate for at least an hour, or until very syrupy. Blend raspberries and juices until smooth, then, using a fine mesh sieve, strain into a pitcher along with milk and buttermilk. Stir and let steep overnight in the fridge. In the morning, mix again if needed, and pour into glasses.
- For the Blueberry Milk:
- Mix blueberries and sugar in the bottom of a bowl, crushing the berries a bit with the back of your spoon (this will get the juices out a bit easier) and let them macerate for at least an hour, or until very syrupy. Blend blueberries and juices until smooth, then, using a fine mesh sieve, strain into a pitcher along with milk and buttermilk. Stir and let steep overnight in the fridge. In the morning, mix again if needed, and pour into glasses.
- For the Vanilla Bean Milk:
- Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean, and place seeds (along with the pod) in a medium saucepan with sugar and milk. Bring mixture to a boil, then remove from heat and let steep for at least one hour. Strain into a pitcher along with buttermilk. Stir and let steep overnight in the fridge. In the morning, mix again if needed, and pour into glasses.
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